As someone who was there through the 90s — the time when the word “Apple” was always prefaced with the word “beleaguered” — my favorite part about this piece is the simple fact that people are talking about Microsoft as if they’re dead, much as they used to about Apple. Amusing.
And, it’s all very good insight that MS would be smart to think seriously about (but they won’t). Visit site »
I’ve always found this one annoying, too. There are countless other examples of phrases that people simply utter without really thinking about what they’re saying, but this one is the worst offender.
But this isn’t my personal biggest pet peeve in US English. The phrase I really hate is “a whole ‘nother.” People say this all the time — I even say it myself once in a while — but if you really think about it, it’s not even possible to properly write it. And it just sounds so damn hickish. I used to think it was a Kansas thing, but people up here in the Northwest say it, too. Visit site »
Matt Mullenweg (whom I’ve never met and is probably a perfectly nice guy) doesn’t really have much ground to stand on in complaining about PHP4 support getting killed off, if you ask me. PHP5 has been out for three years. Time to move on — either to the latest and greatest PHP or a different platform all together. Get over it. Visit site »
I swear, CNet is one of the worst journalism outfits ever created. In yet another spat of anti-Apple hyperbole, they’re all up in arms over the fact that Apple and AT&T require your Social Security Number in order to activate your service. Apparently this is CNet’s first cell phone, or they’d know that every carrier requires this information in order to do a credit check. And, apparently they’ve not done their homework, or they’d know that you can refuse to give AT&T your SSN (thus rendering them unable to perform a credit check), but you’ll be required to fork up another God-knows-how-much as a deposit.
CNet, you suck, man. Seriously. You suck. Visit site »
I’ve been a little sickened at how many people have not only jumped to the defense of Derek Powazek and Heather Champ, but also jumped at the opportunity to publicly blast Paul Cloutier — whom they almost certainly know nothing about.
There are two sides to every story, and yet almost no one bothered to ask about the other side of this one. Instead, they just blindly took Derek’s side.
I don’t know Derek or Heather, but I have a lot of respect for both of their work. I don’t know Paul, either. Do you? Because it’s one thing to stand by your friends. But it’s another thing entirely to blast someone you don’t know because someone else you don’t know said they deserved to be blasted.
Next time, try a healthy dose of perspective. Try to see both sides of the story. My agnostic self has been called a fence-sitter many times, but days like the past few make me glad I am. Visit site »
Sterling talks about hostile design. Really great stuff. I loved the part about the CERN particle accelerator. “It’s a physics instrument — you can’t paint it!” Awesome. Thanks, Nathan. Visit site »
“But what makes the long tail so disingenuous is that what happens in the long tail has almost no ramifications on what happens in the head.” Indeed. Insofar as I can tell, Newsvine is about the only “long tail” style web app that has made compensating the users for their user-generated content a part of their business plan. It frightens me to think just how much great stuff is on YouTube that the creators will never see a dime for. Long tail, my ass. Visit site »
100% correct on every point. Simple, direct, and accurate. Love it. Visit site »
Well-designed URLs are definitely one of the vital aspects to a good, usable, workable, and friendly web — but they’re very often ignored by developers. Part of this is likely people’s adherence to technology systems and CMSes that don’t allow them to easily structure their URLs any way they like. So stop using those systems! :) Visit site »
Possibly the most insightful thing ever written about “Web 2.0.” Visit site »
“Let me emphasize that no one — including adults— should have a blog or personal website. … Blogging has become a socially accepted practice — just as are dating seriously too young, underage drinking and general misbehaving. But just because someone else “jumps off the cliff” does not mean you should do the same.” That’s right, folks. blogging is just as evil as underage drinking! I had no idea — did you? Visit site »
Greg isn’t so excited about “blaghs” anymore. I’m kind of with him. I enjoy the content of blogs and the commentary they provide — but I’m very sick of the cookie-cutter-ness of them, especially from a design perspective. I, too, miss the old days when hitting a new personal site meant a completely different experience than the last one. Visit site »
Greg Storey on the ripoff of the day, and the ripoff process in general. We designers really need to band together to do something about this — it is really hurting our industry. There are way too many hacks in this field, and we need to find a way to educate consumers of design so they don’t keep giving business to hacks instead of professionals. Visit site »
James has a little something to say to “John,” which may refer to a real person, but doesn’t need to. There are a lot of “Johns” out there, especially in the accessibility community. So, “John,” whoever you are — listen up. You just might learn something. Visit site »
I’m not sure if I agree with this or not, but it’s definitely an interesting read. I guess I tend to agree that the Discovery Channel is a little out of control. I was frustrated with some of this year’s Shark Week shows for their sensationalist nature. Where Discovery used to stand for science and truth, it now seems to often mean “making sharks look as scary as they do in Hollywood and setting them to equally creepy music, but saying they’re not so scary to cover our asses with the biology community.” That having been said, it’s really not possible to claim that Irwin was “risking his life” on his final dive. I mean, obviously he was risking his life (he died, after all), but he was reportedly being far, far less risky than we all are every day when we get in our cars. Stingrays are not “maneaters,” and thousands of people dive with them in the Great Barrier Reef (and many other places) every year. So, while Irwin definitely did do some crazy, risky things and that was probably encouraged by The Discovery Channel, you can’t say the day he died was one of these occasions. Visit site »
While the article itself is somewhat interesting, the title alone once again proves my theory that many of those in the accessibility community are incapable of discussing their field without turning into whiny little bitches and making matters personal. I tried to comment on Martin’s post, pointing out that it was one more example of accessibility discussions degenerating into personal attacks and name-calling, and he e-mailed me to tell me that he wouldn’t approve my comment because there’s “no trolling (allowed) on this blog.” Once they grow the hell up, maybe someone will start paying attention to them. Visit site »
Great article by Luke Stevens on the way that accessibility is sometimes sold like snake oil. Accessibility Consultant Guy is often right up there with SEO Guy when it comes to the slimeball factor. A lot of Luke’s concerns are similar to mine, only he is better at stating them. :) Visit site »